January 11, 2013

Damn Mayans and their calendar



We just cracked open the doors on our doomsday bunker. Well wadda ya know... the world is still here. We have been holed up down there for weeks afraid to come out. Even our Facebook friends were scared and telling us to hide. CNN, Fox news, even Jerry Springer were sure this was it.
Les Mis, the film was released and the Mayans had had it... or so I heard.

So that means...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


We have had a brief moment of not working on the house. Holidays, winter, short days, and rain.
Those are the excuses we have been using, and we may get away with them for a little longer.

What we have been doing is enjoying our home, unfinished as it may be, it is amazing to be able to kick back for a little while, wear some clothes without stains, and shoes that have the soles intact, pour a bottle or three of wine, and welcome friends and family into our home.


This bottle was a huge highlight. For fun, look it up.... Abacus ninth bottling!

Just before Thanks Giving we busted ass and finished the rest of the floors (the rest as in, not the third floor). The sanding and oiling of the library, the office, the second floor hall, the laundry room, the linen closet, and two guest bedrooms. The guest bedrooms were furnished with what we had and made ready for guests... just in case any came... hee hee hee he!


Thanksgiving came like a whirlwind and was so lovely. Phillips folks came out from Florida to surprise him. A few days before the day, Phillip was on the phone talking to his Mom about their plans for the holiday when she and Phillips dad walked in our front door. I admit it was my doing and it was grand!

And then came the rain

On and on it seemed to rain. We hunkered down and simply lived and entertained in our home.
Sparkle it up with lights and candles and no seems to notice the unfinished bits. A tree went up and for the first time in seven years the ornament collection came out of storage. 1100-1200 ornaments from all over the world. Hand blown glass, wood, paper, wax, and fabric. A thirty year collection that used to be a sickness was unboxed and all hung on one tree. Each branch of the natural noble fir dripping with magic had to be wired diagonally back to the trunk the support the weight...

By the way... I could not get any decent tree shots... nighttime, no good, daytime, no good, but I tried.





Our Christmas present to ourselves  was the redoing of some furniture for the living room.
The sofa was in the house when we bought it. Dated in the late 1830's dirty, nasty, but solid and sound, we decided to have it reupholstered. We chose to not redo the wood finish but leave it somewhat rough and antique looking. No one wants to be yelled at by Antiques Road Show!




We also sent out two arm chairs that belonged to Phillips Grandmother. High style, post WWII, that had been redone in the early 70's in super groovy high-gloss black frames and white vinyl alligator!!!

Can you imagine? horrifying! (sorry Mom) hee hee


Fresh out of our storage


The chairs were completely redone, frames and all. The wood is now a very dark, natural finish with a soft glow, and the fabric is a beautiful soft wool in a grey mushroom color.
They could be brand new from any showroom. Fantastic!

The sofa received a simple wood cleaning and is now upholstered in natural white linen, just be careful with that glass of red wine!





Tomorrow is another day, and it is not supposed to rain. Now that the world is here to stay we will pay our bills and get our butts back to work.

A closing note for the day... if you would like to see some of what I do for a living, I am giving myself a plug. We have opened a small online retail spot where you can see my popup work and purchase it if you are so inclined.

visit   www.goffengelworkshop.com


#bobvila